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Orange olive oil cake

Gluten and dairy-free orange olive oil cake served on a plate with a slice cut out

Orange olive oil cake

Name: Orange olive oil cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 55 min
Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients: 1 large whole seedless orange; ½ lemon juiced and zested; 225ml olive oil plus extra for the tin; 200g ground almonds; 120g polenta; 1 tsp baking powder (use gluten-free if you need to); 3 large eggs; 225g golden caster sugar; natural yogurt or crème fraîche, to serve (optional); 100g golden caster sugar; ½ orange juiced; ½ lemon juiced; 6 cardamom pods seeds removed and ground; 4 rosemary sprigs

Rosie Birkett

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Serves 8-10

Easy

Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 1 hr and 30 mins

Plus infusing

A star rating of 4.7 out of 5.65 ratingsRate

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Add some citrussy zing to your baking with this gluten and dairy-free orange olive oil cake, topped with a rosemary and cardamom drizzle. It's super fragrant and delicious

Gluten-free

Vegetarian

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Rosie says, "Oranges are so familiar to us these days they’re in danger of seeming somewhat prosaic, and while foodies fawn over the delights of pink, blush and blood oranges when their season comes, we mustn’t overlook the potential of regular varieties. In fact, a standard orange, harvested from warmer climes after months and months of sunshine, is anything but dull when bang in season. It brings a wonderfully balanced sharpness and sweetness to both desserts and savoury dishes throughout the winter.

"This orange cake uses the whole fruit to make a gluten-free batter rich with olive oil and fluffy with ground almonds. Look out for navel oranges (so named because they have what looks like a belly button), particularly for this recipe, because they’re naturally seedless and have a beautifully balanced flavour. The cake is drizzled with a rosemary-laced syrup, because I think there is something magical about the combination of rosemary and orange, which also happens to be my favourite garnish for a Campari spritz."

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

1 large whole seedless orange
½ lemon

juiced and zested
225ml olive oil

plus extra for the tin
200g ground almonds
120g polenta
1 tsp baking powder

(use gluten-free if you need to)
3 large eggs
225g golden caster sugar
natural yogurt

or crème fraîche, to serve (optional)

For the rosemary drizzle

100g golden caster sugar
½ orange

juiced
½ lemon

juiced
6 cardamom pods

seeds removed and ground
4 rosemary sprigs

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Nutrition: Per serving (10)

kcal537
fat36g
saturates5g
carbs44g
sugars35g
fibre1g
protein9g
salt0.5g

Method

step 1

Bring a pan of water to the boil. Lower the orange in and cover with a lid, leaving a gap so that a little steam can still escape. Boil gently for 30 mins, then remove from the water and allow to cool slightly. Quarter the orange and remove any pips, then transfer to a blender or food processor, add the lemon juice and zest and blitz to a smooth purée.
step 2

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Oil the sides of a 23cm round cake tin and line the bottom of the tin with baking parchment.
step 3

Sieve the almonds, polenta, baking powder and ½ tsp salt into a large bowl and mix together thoroughly. Whisk the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until really pale and fluffy, about 4 mins. With the mixer still whisking, slowly pour in the olive oil in a steady stream so that the mixture doesn’t split. Once incorporated, scrape in the orange purée and whisk to combine, then add the dry ingredients, combining until you have a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 55 mins to 1 hr 5 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
step 4

Cool in the tin on a wire rack while you make the syrup. Combine the sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, cardamom and 30ml water in a pan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then add the rosemary. Turn off the heat and infuse for at least 30 mins.
step 5

Use a skewer to poke holes in the top of the cake, then pour over the syrup. Allow to settle for 5 mins or so, then slice and serve with some natural yogurt or crème fraîche, if you like.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2019

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A star rating of 4.7 out of 5.65 ratings

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